No. 7 Kansas supports Robinson in rough times

By DAVE SKRETTA -
Associated Press -
Friday, January 20, 2012

LAWRENCE, KAN. (AP) - The third weekend in January will always be shrouded in darkness for Thomas Robinson.

It was this weekend last year that the junior forward for No. 7 Kansas received a phone call from his young sister, her voice trembling, to say that their mother had died of a heart attack, ripping away the last vestiges of close family that they had.

Now, through overwhelming heartache, Robinson has matured into one of the nation’s premier players, and has proven that there are often brighter days ahead.

“I couldn’t have handled the situation he’s been through near as well as he did,” Kansas coach Bill Self said this week, reflecting on a terrible time for the entire program. “He’s a remarkable kid and he deserves the things that have come his way.”

What lies ahead are almost assuredly NBA riches.

The 6-foot-9 forward leads the Jayhawks (15-3, 5-0 Big 12) in scoring and rebounding, and is coming off perhaps the finest performance of his career, when he logged 27 points and 14 rebounds in a rout of then-unbeaten and No. 3 Baylor last Monday night. Robinson could very well go in the first five picks of the June draft, which would mean a minimum rookie salary of more than $2.8 million.

A year ago, he was wondering how to pay for a funeral.

The phone call came about 11 p.m. on a Friday night. Robinson answered and on the other end was his 7-year-old sister, Jayla. The two had been raised by their single mother, Lisa Robinson, and spoke often enough that Robinson had little reason to wonder whether something was amiss.

Jayla told him that Lisa Robinson had died. In a span of three weeks, they had also lost their grandfather and grandmother.

The team spent most of the night consoling Robinson, who at the time was coming off the bench for the Jayhawks. A few hours later, the mentally and physically drained team lost to Texas, ending a 69-game home winning streak that had lasted almost four years.

On Tuesday, the team played at Colorado. Then on Wednesday, nearly everyone involved with the program flew into a snowstorm in Washington, D.C., for a service on Thursday.

“He broke down like anybody else would,” Taylor said. “He handled it a lot better than a lot of people I know have and probably would have.”

Robinson’s father had never really been involved in his life, though he now has custody of Jayla. But at the time, Robinson felt entirely alone, which Self didn’t fully understand until he asked a question the night of his mother’s death.